Correlation of singlet-triplet gaps for aryl carbenes calculated by MINDO/3, MNDO,AM1, and PM3 with Hammett-type substituent constants

Heats of formation, atomic charges, and geometries of some 110 structures involving substituted singlet and triplet phenyl and 4,4-dimethyl-1,4-dihydronaphthalene carbenes and the corresponding diazomethanes were calculated by MINDO/3, MNDO, AM1, and PM3 semiempirical molecular orbital methods. The singlet-triplet gaps for AM1 and PM3 calculations for the para derivatives in both systems have been successfully correlated with Brown σ⁺ constants. Good correlations with σ⁺ were found for the charges on the carbenic centers of the singlets as well as with the energy barrier for rotation of the aryl group about the C-C single bond in substituted singlet phenylcarbenes. Comparisons of these results with experimental data indicate that AM1 and PM3 are much better than MNDO and MINDO/3 in predicting the intrinsic substituent effects in singlet carbenes.     

Correlation analysis of substituent effects on the acidity of benzoic acids by the AM1 method

Theoretical analysis of the electronic effect of aromatic substituents was done with the use of the AM1 computational procedure. The gas-phase acidity of substituted benzoic acids was linear with the difference in the heat of formation between corresponding benzoic acids and benzoate anions, the energy of the highest occupied molecular orbital, and the net charge on the acidic oxygen atoms of the corresponding benzoate anions. The Hammett σ constant was linearly correlated with the net charge on the atoms of the acid moiety of substituted benzoic acids. The AM1 computational procedure satisfactorily reproduced the electronic properties of a wide variety of substituents.     

Hydrocarbon acidities calculated with MINDO/3, MNDO,and AM1

Acidities of 32 hydrocarbons have been calculated using MINDO/3, MNDO, and AM1. All three semiempirical procedures have systematic errors and reproduce experimental acidities poorly. A linear correlation, however, does exist between the calculated and experimental results. Correction of the AM1 or MNDO acidities leads to good agreement with literature values even for acids, such as methane and ethylene, whose conjugate bases are small localized anions. Predictions for several hydrocarbons are given.     

Modeling molecular acidity with electronic properties and Hammett constants for substituted benzoic acids

Molecular acidity is an important physiochemical property essential in many fields of molecular studies, but an efficient and reliable computational approach to make accurate predictions is still missing. In this work, based on our previous studies to use gas phase electronic properties such as molecular electrostatic potential and valence natural atomic orbitals of the acidic atom and leaving proton, we demonstrate here that different approaches can be employed to tackle this problem. To that end, we employ 196 singly, doubly, and triply substituted benzoic acids for the study. We show that two different approaches are possible, one focusing on the carboxyl group through its localized electronic properties and the other on the substituting groups via Hammett constants and their additivity rule. Our present results clearly exhibit that with the linear models built from the singly substituted species, one can accurately predict the pK(a) values for the doubly and triply substituted species with both of these two approaches. The predictions from these approaches are consistent with each other and agree well with the experimental data. These intrinsically different approaches are the two manifestations of the same molecular acidity property, both valid and complementary to each other.     

Energies of excited states calculated with MNDO and AM1

Summary Singlet excitation energies of 18 organic molecules have been calculated using MNDO and AM1 semiempirical methods with limited configuration interaction. While both procedures systematically overstabilize energies of excited states, the ordering of states and the effects of substituents are reproduced, with AM1 being slightly better suited than MNDO. The best agreement with experiment was obtained for conjugated systems.

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Energien für angeregte Zustände mittels MNDO- und AM1-Rechnungen

Zusammenfassung Es wurden die Singlet-Anregungsenergien von 18 organischen Molekülen mittels der semiempirischen MNDO- und AM1-Methode mit beschränkter Konfigurationswechselwirkung berechnet. Beide Methoden zeigen eine systematische Überstabilisierung von angeregten Zuständen, die Reihenfolge der Zustände und die Substituenteneffekte werden jedoch gut wiedergegeben, wobei sich AM1 als etwas zuverlässiger erwies. Die beste Übereinstimmung wurde für konjugierte Systeme gefunden.

     

Applicability of MNDO techniques AM1 and PM3 to ring-structured polymers

Semiempirical Hartree‐Fock techniques are widely used to study properties of long ring‐structured chains, although these types of systems were not included in the original parametrization ensembles. These techniques are very useful for an ample class of studies, and their predictive power should be tested. We present here a study of the applicability of some techniques from the NDDO family (MNDO, AM1, and PM3) to the calculation of the ground state geometries of a specific set of molecules with the ring‐structure characteristic. For this we have chosen to compare results against ab initio Restricted Hartree‐Fock 6‐31G(d,p) calculations, extended to Møller‐Plesset 2 perturbation theory for special cases. The systems investigated comprise the orthobenzoquinone (O₂C₆H₄) molecule and dimers (O₂C₆H₄)₂, as well as trimers of polyaniline, which present characteristics that extend to several systems of interest in the field of conducting polymers, such as ring structure and heterosubstitution. We focus on the torsion between rings, because this angle is known to affect strongly the electronic and optical properties of conjugated polymers. We find that AM1 is always in qualitative agreement with the ab initio results, and is thus indicated for further studies of longer, more complicated chains. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem 23: 1135–1142, 2002     

Evaluation of PM3, AM1, and MNDO for calculation of higher energy ionization potentials

Higher ionization energies were calculated with PM3, AM1, and MNDO for three series of molecules, representative small molecules, molecules containing heteroatoms, and sterically congested alkenes. Values from PM3, AM1, and MNDO were compared to experimental values. In most instances, the semiempirical calculations correctly predict the ordering of higher ionization energies. In the absence of steric hindrance, MNDO is the method of choice. Within groups of molecules, AM1 performs better on hydrocarbons, especially twisted hydrocarbons, than PM3. PM3 commonly gives sigma orbitals which are too high in energy compared to related pi orbitals. PM3 performed better than AM1 with molecules containing oxygen, but failed to give the correct geometry for hydrogen peroxide.     

MNDO,AM1 and PM3 calculations in the study of the energy and structure of quinazolone tautomers

MNDO, AM1, and PM3 calculations were used to study the tautomeric forms of quinazolones. The relative energy of the tautomers closest to the experimental value was obtained using the AM1 and PM3 methods. The keto-enol tautomeric equilibrium of quinazolones in the gas phase is shifted toward the ketone form.Translated from Khimiya Geterotsiklicheskikh Soedinenii, No. 9, pp. 1246–1251, September, 1993.     

Correlation of ESCA shifts and Hammett substituent constants in substituted benzene derivatives

ESCA shifts of substituted benzene derivatives are shown to correlate with Hammett σ constants. An explanation of this correlation is given in terms of the thermodynamic model for core electron binding energy shifts, and it is shown that ESCA shifts in benzene derivatives can be treated as a linear free energy relationship.     

Accurate prediction of absolute acidity constants in water with a polarizable force field: substituted phenols, methanol, and imidazole

Validity of a force field with explicit treatment of electrostatic polarization in a form of inducible point dipoles for computing acidity constants was tested by calculating absolute pK(a) values of substituted phenols, methanol, and imidazole in water with the molecular dynamics technique. The last two systems were selected as tyrosine and histidine side-chain analogues, respectively. The solvent was represented by an explicit polarizable water model. Similar calculations were also performed with a modified OPLS-AA nonpolarizable force field. The resulting pK(a) values were compared with available experimental data. While the nonpolarizable force field yields errors of about 5 units in the absolute pK(a) values for the phenols and methanol, the polarizable force field produces the acidity constant values within a ca. 0.8 units accuracy. For the case of imidazole, the fixed-charges force field was capable of reproducing the experimental value of pK(a) (6.4 versus the experimental 7.0 units), but only at a cost of dramatically underestimating dimerization energy for the imidazolium-water complex. At the same time, the polarizable force field yields an even more accurate result of pK(a) = 6.96 without any sacrifice of the accuracy in the dimerization energy. It has also been demonstrated that application of Ewald summation for the long-range electrostatics is important, and substitution of a simple cutoff procedure with Born correction for ions can lead to underestimation of absolute pK(a) values by more than 5 units. The accuracy of the absolute acidity constants computed with the polarizable force field is very encouraging and opens road for further tests on more diverse organic molecules sets, as well as on proteins.     

Substituent effects on the acidity of weak acids. 2. Calculated gas-phase acidities of substituted benzoic acids

To investigate the origin of substituent effects on the acidity of benzoic acids, the structures of a series of substituted benzoic acids and benzoates have been calculated at the B3LYP/6-311+G* and MP2/6-311+G* theoretical levels. The vibrational frequencies were calculated using B3LYP/6-311+G* and allowed corrections for the change in zero-point energies on ionization, and the change in energy on going from 0 K (corresponding to the calculations) to 298 K. A more satisfactory agreement with the experimental values was obtained by energy calculations at the MP2/ 6-311++G* level using the above structures. The resulting Delta H(acid) values agree very well with the experimental gas-phase acidities. The energies of compounds with pi-electron-accepting or -releasing substituents, rotated to give the transition state geometries, provided rotational barriers that could be compared with those found for the corresponding substituted benzenes. Isodesmic reactions allowed the separate examination of the substituent effects on the energies of the acids and on the anions. Electron-withdrawing groups stabilize the benzoate anions more than they destabilize the benzoic acids. Electron-donating groups stabilize the acids and destabilize the anions by approximately equal amounts. The gas-phase acidities of meta- and para-substituted benzoic acids are linearly related. This is also found for the acidities of substituted phenylacetic acids and benzoic acids. Since direct pi-electron interactions are not possible with the phenylacetic acids, this indicates that the acidities are mainly controlled by a field effect interaction between the charge distribution in the substituted benzene ring and the negative charge of the carboxylate group. The Hammett sigma(M) and sigma(P) values are also linearly related for many small substituents from NO(2) through the halogens and to OH and NH(2). Most of the other substituents fall on a line with a different slope     

H2O and H2 interaction with ZnO surfaces: A MNDO,AM1, and PM3 theoretical study with large cluster models

We investigated the adsorption and heterolytic dissociation of H₂O and H₂ molecules on a (ZnO)₂₂ cluster corresponding to ZnO (0001), (000(OVERBAR)1), and (10(OVERBAR)10) surfaces using MNDO , AM 1 and PM 3 semiempirical procedures. The geometry of the adsorbed molecule has been optimized in order to analyze binding energies, charge transfer, and preferential sites of interaction. The adsorbed species interact most strongly when it is bonded to the twofold coordinated zinc atom of the cluster surface. The interaction of the H₂O molecule with the surface of ZnO has a charge transfer from H₂O to the surface ranging between 0.17 and 0.27 au. The neighboring atoms of the surface are the main receptors during the process of charge transfer. Our results indicate that there is a weak bonding of the hydrogen atom from OH with the oxygen surface atom that could produce the O(SINGLE BOND)H·O band. The interaction of the H₂ molecule with the surface is generally weak and only the PM 3 method yields a strong binding energy for this interaction. There is a charge transfer from the H₂ molecule to the surface. The chemisorption of H on oxygen atom of the surface transfer charge from the surface to the H. We also calculated the vibrational analyses for these interactions on ZnO surface and compared our results with available experimental data. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

An application of the reaction field theory to hydrated metal cations in the framework of the MNDO,AM1, and PM3 methods

A reaction field theory, combined with the MNDO, AM1, and PM3 molecular orbital methods, was applied to hydration phenomena of metal cationic species. The first hydration shell was treated explicitly by using a supermolecular model, [M(H₂O)_n]^m+, and its surrounding medium was described with a continuum dielectric. Hydration free energies were evaluated as a sum of the contributions from the electrostatic interaction with the bulk medium, the hydrated cluster formation, the cavity formation, and the vaporization of water molecules forming the cluster. As a whole, calculated hydration energies were in good agreement with the corresponding experimental data over various kinds of metal cationic species. © 1995 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Correlation of substituted aromatic β‐diketones' characteristic protons chemical shifts with Hammett substituent constants

Influence of dibenzoylmethane's substituents in meta and para positions on chemical shift values of tautomers' characteristic protons was investigated in four solvents with ¹H NMR spectroscopy: acetone‐d₆, benzene‐d₆, CDCl₃ and deuterated dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO‐d₆). It was proved that the influence of substituents on chemical shifts strongly depends on the kind of the solvent; the greatest changes were observed in benzene‐d₆ and the smallest in CDCl₃. In acetone‐d₆ and DMSO‐d₆, the influence of substituents on chemical shifts is similar and the most regular. It allowed a fair correlation of chemical shifts of para‐substituted dibenzoylmethane derivatives' characteristic protons with Hammett substituent constants in these solvents. In CDCl₃, characteristic protons' chemical shifts were near ¹H NMR spectroscopy measurement error limits, and, therefore, correlation with Hammett substituent constants in this solvent was unsatisfactory. In benzene, although the changes of chemical shifts are the most evident, the changes are also the most irregular, and, therefore, correlation in this solvent failed completely. Results of meta‐substituted derivatives were much more irregular, and their correlation with Hammett substituent constants was poor in all investigated solvents. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Accurate calculation of N1s and C1s core electron binding energies of substituted pyridines. Correlation with basicity and with Hammett substituent constants

Substituent shifts of the energetics of four related ionization processes of pyridines and benzoic acids (Fig. 1) were investigated. The first process is core-electron ionization of gas-phase pyridines (Fig. 1A), while the second concerns gas-phase acid-base reaction between a substituted pyridine and a conjugated acid (Fig. 1B), and the third and fourth processes are the acid dissociation of substituted benzoic acids in aqueous solution (Fig. 1C) and in vacuum (Fig. 1D), respectively. Core-electron binding energies for the first process were calculated using density-functional theory with the scheme ΔE_KS (PW86x-PW91c/TZP+C_rel)//HF/6-31G*. Average absolute deviation of calculated core electron binding energy shifts at N atom in substituted pyridines from experiment was 0.08 eV. The shift at N coincides highly with that at a ring carbon atom. The four shifts corresponding to the four processes shown in Figs. 1A–D correlate strongly with one another, with numerical values fairly close to each other when expressed in unit of electron volts.     

AM1, PM3, and PM5 calculations of the absorption maxima of basic organic dyes

The absorption maxima, λ_max, of various organic dyes such as indigo, azobenzene, phenylamine, hydrazone, anthraquinone, naphthoquinone, and malachite green were calculated using the AM1, PM3, and PM5 semiempirical molecular orbital theories with the configuration interaction singles (CIS) and random phase approximation (RPA) approaches. The calculated λ_max were then compared with the values obtained by CNDO/S, INDO/S, ab initio CIS, and time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT). We found that the λ_max values calculated by AM1, PM3, and PM5 were in good correlation with the observed λ_max values. When B3LYP/cc-pVDZ optimized geometries were used, the square of the correlation coefficients between the calculated and observed λ_max, , at the AM1-RPA, PM3-RPA, and PM5-RPA levels were 0.891, 0.897, and 0.927, respectively. In particular, at PM5-RPA//B3LYP/cc-pVDZ was the largest among those obtained from all the other calculations including TD/B3LYP/cc-pVDZ//B3LYP/cc-pVDZ . Accordingly, the standard deviation of the difference between observed and calculated λ_max by the linear regression function at PM5-RPA//B3LYP/cc-pVDZ was the smallest. It was therefore concluded that this method was the most promising for the prediction of λ_max of various dyes among the computational methods studied here. When AM1 optimized geometries were used, at the AM1-RPA, PM3-RPA, and PM5-RPA levels were 0.822, 0.841, and 0.901, respectively, and they were also comparable to that at TD/B3LYP/cc-pVDZ//B3LYP/cc-pVDZ. Therefore, although some calibration efforts may be needed for AM1 geometries, PM5-RPA(CIS)//AM1 may be a second candidate available for the prediction of the absorption maxima of dyes, especially in the case of emphasizing computational cost.     

One-bond C-α,H coupling constants in amino acids and peptides pH dependence and substituent increments

One-bond C-α,H coupling constants are reported for glycine, alanine, sarcosine and related di- and tripeptides. A detailed study of the pH dependence of ¹J(C-α,H) has led to a determination of additive increments, ζ, for the functional groups NH₃, NHCO? , COO^?, and CONH? which can be used, together with known values for NH₂, COOH and alkyl substituents, to calculate ¹J(C-α,H) in amino acids and peptides.     

Simultaneous determination of partition coefficients and acidity constants of chlorinated phenols and gualacols by gas chromatography

The partition coefficients, P, in the n-octanol/water system and the acidity constants, K_a, of 15 chlorinated phenols and guaiacols at 20° were simultaneously determined by investigating the pH dependence of the apparent partition coefficients, P_a. For determining P_a, the relative responses of individual phenols and guaiacols in the aqueous phase after equilibration were measured by glass-capillary gas chromatography with electron-capture detection and compared with those in the octanol phase before partition. Curvefitting, linear regression, and non-linear regression were used for treating the partition data. The values of pK_a and log P were compared with the values which could be found in the literature, and are discussed in relation to their affinity to methanol/water and acetonitrile/water mixtures.